Kevin Magnussen faces the remainder of the season with the knowledge that he will be replaced by Esteban Ocon. Haas announced on Thursday that the Danish driver will be succeeded by the Frenchman from Alpine. Despite this, Magnussen remains confident about his future in Formula 1, even as other major racing classes beckon. With Haas’ recent success, the focus is now on 2024.
As the Belgian GP approaches, Kevin Magnussen believes there are still plenty of points up for grabs for the Americans. Haas has performed surprisingly well this year with their VF-24, although it was primarily Nico Hülkenberg who consistently finished in the points. “I always look forward to Spa,” Magnussen said at a press conference. “I think our car should theoretically thrive on this circuit. But yes, the midfield is very close. Nevertheless, there have been enough races where we performed unexpectedly well, so we’ll see.”
End of the First Half of the Season and Future Prospects for Haas
With the Belgian Grand Prix, the first half of the Formula 1 season comes to a close. As we head into the summer break, what improvements can Haas make in the second half of the year? “We’re not consistent enough yet,” responded Magnussen. “Compared to last year, we have improved a lot. We were very good in the qualifiers then, but on Sundays, it always fell apart. This year, it’s essentially the opposite.”
Team Changes and Future Plans
It has been officially announced that Esteban Ocon will be joining Haas next year. This means that Ayao Komatsu’s team has secured a completely new line-up. For Magnussen, there are few seats left, but the Dane is not yet concerned about the future. “Anything is possible in that regard, Formula 1, IndyCar, but also endurance racing,” he said. “I have to wait calmly to see what the options are. We first need to finish this season.”
